While slowing down at my neighborhood elementary school I applied the brakes at the stop sign. The brake pedal began to pulse. I drove around the block to my house. Upon investigation, a 12" section of the inside of my left rear brake rotor broke off. When the rotor continued to turn, the remaining section of the brake rotor caught the caliper piston and sheared it off. Luckily, I was only driving at 18 mph. If I had been on the highway driving 55-65 mph, the loss of braking would have been catastrophic. The piece that broke off was covered with rust on the inside - the side manufactured with cooling openings which are located between the inside and outside of the brake rotor.

- Columbus, OH, USA

Brake failure.

- Minden, LA, USA

My 2001 GMC Sierra 4X4 pickup was designed with the rear brake calipers installed on the front of the rotors. Any road debris thrown-up by the front wheels causes the rear brakes to malfunction. The truck has 44600 miles on it. The front brake pads are in excellent shape. The rear pads, on the outside, are in excellent shape. The rear pads, on the inside, are worn to the metal. I complained about a noise in the rear end while it was under warranty.the rear brakes always hang when you stop, then make twin popping sounds when you start-off again. The problem was never found or fixed. This is not easy to detect and could lead to severe brake failure.

- Pine Bluff, AR, USA